The Insane Forgotten Grinch Halloween Special
Pop-culture history is chock-full of bizarre children's Halloween specials; from the time Garfield fought rotting ghost pirates to Charlie Brown worshipping at the altar of a mysterious pagan squash God. One Halloween cartoon you might not remember is 1977's Halloween is Grinch Night, featuring Dr. Seuss' iconic Christmas-stealing curmudgeon. Confusingly, this follow-up to the beloved holiday special once again finds the Grinch acting like a total dickhole, despite his yuletide epiphany. We assume it's a prequel, though that's never actually made clear, prompting some viewers to wonder if the Grinch's heart just shrank back down three sizes on December 26th.
It turns out that once a year, Whoville's local green monster heads into town to freak everybody out on "Grinch Night" -- because while the Whos worship Christ and celebrate his birth, apparently Halloween's not a thing. The Grinch rides his "paraphernalia wagon" down the mountain, only to be intercepted by a small boy named Euchariah. And things get trippier than peyote night at Matthew McConaughey's house. For starters, The Grinch has the ability to detach his eyebrows and cause them to flutter around like a bat, attacking Euchariah and, presumably later, Hunter S. Thompson.
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The most memorable moment in the show comes when Euchariah dares to look inside The Grinch's wagon, which is filled, not with presents, but more psychedelic nightmare demons than you can shake a haunted bong at.
In the end, the boy prevents The Grinch from reaching the town, and a fed-up Max the Dog goes to live with Euchariah -- again, making us think that this might be a depressing epilogue to a famously heartwarming redemption story. Regardless it all makes for fun family Halloween viewing, provided that no one in said family is prone to raging acid flashbacks.
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Top Image: DePatie -- Freleng Enterprises
